I was recently asked "What are the best career advancement steps for someone who is a junior to intermediate QA professional?" Answer: If you want your career to move into programming, study … [Read more...] about Career Advice
Fighting Bad Test Documentation
A lot of people I teach seem to be under pressure to create more documents to describe their test process. But documenting is not testing. It is one of the chief distractions to testing. "James Bach … [Read more...] about Fighting Bad Test Documentation
Lack of Will
A core problem with quality in our industry is lack of will. Lack of "will work", that is. This is because it's much easier to tell that a product can work than that it will work. And too often it … [Read more...] about Lack of Will
Tools Come at a Cost
One of the experiences I share with a lot of people in this modern world is that I forget phone numbers. I never used to. The problem is that my mobile phone remembers them for me. So, phone numbers … [Read more...] about Tools Come at a Cost
Bug Report: Weird Charges and Customer Service
Two months ago, I had a $732 charge on my Sprint phone bill for "telephone equipment." I had not purchased any telephone equipment, so I called customer service to dispute the bill. The service agent … [Read more...] about Bug Report: Weird Charges and Customer Service
Bug Report: United Airlines Self-Check-In
I recently used the United Airlines "self check-in" kiosk. It's a touchscreen system at the airport that allows passengers to get a boarding pass for a flight without having to see a live ticket … [Read more...] about Bug Report: United Airlines Self-Check-In
Context-Driven Driving
I know how to drive. I have a lot of experience as a driver. I've been a driver for 17 years or so. For me, driving has become easy. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean very much. I have no experiences … [Read more...] about Context-Driven Driving
Technical Explorations Decomposed
I've been thinking about the general nature of technical explorations. Let me take a hack at describing them. A technical exploration is a self-directed, cyclic process of problem identification and … [Read more...] about Technical Explorations Decomposed
Testing Heuristic: Rumble Strip
A rumble strip is a strip of corrugated pavement running alongside highways. If you go to sleep and and drift off the road, the wheels of your car hit the rumble strips and that makes the car vibrate … [Read more...] about Testing Heuristic: Rumble Strip
Tester Movies and Videos
(Revised 1/2015) Here is a list of some movies and documentaries that helped me think better about testing: The Pentagon Wars This movie is about a test manager trying to test the Bradley Fighting … [Read more...] about Tester Movies and Videos